CHS hammers Wildcats, 86-69

Wednesday, February 21, 2007

CLOVERDALE -- The Cloverdale Clovers boys' basketball team hosted South Vermillion Tuesday night, hoping to continue to gain momentum going into the South Putnam Sectional tournament next week, after a come-from-behind victory at Rockville last Friday night.

Cloverdale exploded out of the gate at the beginning of the game, scoring 32 points in the first quarter, and went on to earn the Clovers' 14th win of the season, by defeating the Wildcats, 86-69.

The Clovers outscored South Vermillion 32-13 in the first quarter, but the Wildcats didn't give up, outscoring Cloverdale in the second and third quarters, 20-17, and 19-14.

However, in the fourth quarter, Cloverdale went to a four-corner offense, and outscored South Vermillion, 23-17, in the final stanza.

The Clovers were in top form, hitting 58 percent of their two-point and 58 percent of their three-point shots, grabbing 35 rebounds, with 13 of them on the offensive end of the floor, and passing for 25 assists.

The game was up-tempo throughout as both teams used aggressive, full-court presses through most of the game, but the Clovers only turned the ball over 11 times during the game, and none of those turnovers occurred in the fourth quarter, while Cloverdale was in their four-corner offense.

Overall, it was a great team win for the Clovers as all eight Cloverdale players got on the scoreboard and passed for at least one assist each.

"We did a really job of moving the ball tonight, getting the open shot, and we had a lot of assists," commented Cloverdale coach Pat Rady after the game. "We knew that South Vermillion could play good basketball, and with Milam and Fisher, we knew that they would make runs at us during the game.

"I was pleased with our kids' total effort tonight and in how we answered every run that they made at us. We've just got to keep it going. I think sometimes you need to play to get back in after we've had the layoff, and these games are what helps us get better," Rady added.

Christian Cheatham paced the Clovers with 33 points while Michael Neese finished with 21. Craig Blair also had 13.

Ryan Shoulders had seven points, Kevin Gregg added five, Seth Trinkle scored three, and Justin Hacker and Ryan Dean closed out the Clover scoring with two points each.

Cheatham had a double-double, pulling-down a game-high 11 rebounds, and Blair and Shoulders grabbed eight and six boards each.

Neese also had a double-double, dishing-out 11 assists, and Blair passed for seven.

In the junior varsity game, Cloverdale defeated South Vermillion, 49-35.

Michael Glassburn led the Clover scoring with 14 points, followed by Brandon Moon with 13, Dane Grounds with 11, Robbie Randall with five, and Kevin Dean, Jason Salter, and Chad Cummings closed out Cloverdale's scoring with two points each.

The Clovers (14-5, 5-1 WCC) travel to Edgewood today to play the Mustangs. The junior varsity game begins at 5:30 p.m.

At Cloverdale

South Vermillion 13 20 19 17 -- 69

Cloverdale 32 17 14 23 -- 86

Cloverdale (14-5, 5-1 WCC) -- Neese 9-13 0-0 21, Blair 5-14 1-2 13, Trinkle 1-6 0-0 3, Cheatham 14-18 5-7 33, Shoulders 3-5 1-2 7, Gregg 2-4 0-0 5, Hacker 0-0 2-2 2, Dean 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 35-60 FG, 9-13 FT, 86 TP.

South Vermillion (7-13, 1-5 WIC) -- Laswell 0-0 0-0 0, Ashby 0-0 0-0 0, Milam 12-22 2-2 31, Byram 4-11 1-2 9, Walsh 0-1 0-0 0, Decker 0-1 0-0 0, Bush 0-0 0-0 0, Mumaw 3-8 0-0 6, Fisher 11-16 1-1 23, Rowe 0-1 0-0 0, Harpenau 0-0 0-0 0, Alfke 0-0 0-0 0, Hoggatt 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 30-60 FG, 4-5 FT, 69 TP.

3-pt. FG -- C 7-12 (Neese 3-5), SV 5-22 (Milam 5-13). Rebounds -- C 35 (Cheatham 10), SV 20 (Fisher 7). Blocks -- C 1 (Shoulders 1), SV 2 (Fisher 2). Assists -- C 25 (Neese 11), SV 17 (Milam 5). Steals -- C 7 (Blair 2, Trinkle 2), SV 8 (Byram 2, Decker 2, Fisher 2). Total fouls -- C 9, SV 12. Fouled out -- none. Turnovers -- C 11, SV 14.

Junior Varsity -- Cloverdale won, 49-35.

Next game -- The Clovers (14-5, 5-1 WCC) travel to Edgewood today to play the Mustangs. The junior varsity game begins at 5:30 p.m.

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